The Hub @ SSJBC

Who are we?

Sutton St James Baptist Church (SSJBC)  is a small rural Baptist Church with a BIG heart for our community.  We are open every weekday 10am – 12 noon as a hub for our community offering a variety of activities from crafts to boardgames, chair exercise to jigsaws - all with a latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate or tea!   We also offer a monthly community lunch and a monthly men's breakfast and a term time Youth Cafe so there is something for everyone regardless of age.

Community impact

Sutton St James has much to offer its community of approx. 1100 people, including a village shop, butchers and bakers, hairdressers and pub.  It is also blessed with a village hall and a parish church hall which offer great venues for special functions however it lacked a place to meet - this is why SSJBC decided to create The Hub!

The Hub is a place where people can meet for a cuppa and a chat, possibly just sit and read the paper in comfortable relaxed surroundings, enjoy taking part in a craft or similar, access support and advice from visiting professionals such as the CAB or a Debt Counsellor – as well as being a place of worship, peace, prayer and healing.

The majority of our activities are provided on a donation only basis to ensure they are available to all our community - even those on the lowest incomes.  

The Hub loves to co-produce activities with our community rather than doing things to our community.  Our annual flower festival is a great example of this on a variety of levels. The village school get involved by making wonderful display boards which take pride of place and then the school bring all the children to visit

Why are we crowdfunding?

SSJBC are fundraising to enable us to continue to provide The Hub on a daily basis for our isolated rural community and for the community lunch and men's breakfasts and our other activities to continue.

Many of our guests see the Hub as a lifeline as it is somewhere they can come on a daily basis where they are known and loved - and it doesn't cost them a fortune!

The increase in electricity costs has hit SSJBC hard - as has the general increase in the cost of living, however we are still committed to being open every day for our community and of listening to how we can best help and support them.

How we’ll spend the money raised

Any money raised would be spent on the staffing and running costs associated with The Hub to ensure we can remain open every week day for our community and also to continue to provide the monthly activities such as the men's breakfast and community lunches that are enjoyed by so many. 

We would also put money towards the cost of our basic craft items and towards the hospitality items that enable the aforementioned to take place.